Mother Nature Knows!

[gja1000]

In central Texas we have a native plant called Texas Sage. Here are a couple of pictures of the plant, one in bloom, one not in bloom. It is also called a weather plant or a barometer plant because it only blooms when the weather changes. I have two of the plants in my back yard, and it is true, they go weeks without blooming, then BAM! they bloom. When not in bloom, they are just a plain green plant (see pic)

Well, I was listening to our long term forecast last weekend and they said it would be very hot all week with no chance of rain till next weekend. I look at the forecast on my computer and my phone and it says the same thing - highs in the upper 90's and no rain. The very next day though, I saw the Texas Sage in FULL BLOOM! Well, it had rained a couple days previously, so I thought it was due to the rain (and maybe it was, partially). But then, I started to see sage in FULL bloom all over town - and the more prominent the weather change, the more it blooms. Well, l I wake up today and there is thunder and lightening and rain on the way to work. I check the long term forecast and lo and behold, it has changed to rain every day and temps in the upper 80's, low 90's.

So there you go, Mother Nature knows more than the weather men!

[Blueyes]

That's so neat!! I think I'll plant some in my back yard!! I'm thrilled you got RAIN!!!!!!!!!!

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Blueyes

That's so neat!! I think I'll plant some in my back yard!! I'm thrilled you got RAIN!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Betsi - they really are great plants and drought tolerant too. There are two kinds, one with more silvery gray leaves, and the other with greener colored leaves. I think the one with the greener leaves is a prettier plant and has prettier blooms. I tell you it is always right on target with a weather change. It's really neat!

[DianaB]

That's really cool!!! I've never heard of that!!! It's a really pretty plant!!

[Janet]

The plants are lovely. Do you think they can grow in Indiana and survive a winter?

[gja1000]

I looked it up and found that it is cold hardy to 10 degrees, but I also read someone in Tulsa, Oklahoma (northeast Oklahoma) had a hard time growing it because it would continually lose it's leaves and then grow new ones. Also, you CAN overwater it, so you all probably get too much rain - it is more of a desert plant.

[Janet]

Sorry...but that sucks.....LOL. I would love to have one, but don't want it to die.

[judy]

That's a pretty plant. I never quite trust the weather reports. They are so often wrong. In NYC, I think they just look out the window and see if it's cloudy, sunny or raining and elaborate on that.

Up here, the weather reports are so detailed! High up in the mountains, we have different weather patterns than the valleys, and storms travel across the large areas the weather reports cover. For example, there will be a weather alert about a storm and it will give details like storm, hail and high winds approaching Roxbury from 9:00 to 9:10 pm, Margaretville from 9:11 to 9:17, and so on.

I think having something like a sage bush would make it much easier!!!